Just a stinkin fuse...

Years ago Peter Aczel from the Audio Critic was the first person that I know of who said that fuses can degrade the sound.
He was speaking at that time about bypassing speaker fuses.

I've followed this ever since, never had any gear malfunctions and the house never caught fire.

When the Iso Cleans came out I gave them a try, and while not quite as impressive as bypassing the fuse, it offers better sound than a cheap $1.00 fuse and gives you protection.

I recently switched to the HiFi Supremes and yes they are better at all the things the IsoCleans were better at compared to cheap one buck fuses.

The poor little fuse, the Rodney Dangerfield of audio, gets no respect.

Fuses are sonic bottlenecks.
They can offer as much sonic improvement as any other tweak, and the cost is considerably less than most.

They are priced within everyone's comfort zone,unless of course you think that they are over-priced and can not make a difference.

But they do.It's not voodoo.
They've been proven to degrade sound, even the old myth buster told us so.

They are easy to install and easy to take out.
There is no need for any tech,to do the swap.

It's as easy as swapping tubes and nobody thinks tube rolling is crazy.

So why don't the manufacturers supply them if they are so good?

Some do, perhaps more will, but in the scale of economies that $85.00 fuse can skyrocket in price,which is why upgraded power cords are seldom supplied.

The HiFi fuse won't make your bargain Chinese tube amp sound like an Audio Research, but it will make it sound better than when you bought it.

To me the upgraded fuse is a no brainer, it's does double duty by sounding better than a stock fuse while still adding protection.

We should feel thankful that all it costs is about a hundred bucks, because you can spend more and not get as much performance.

I'll second your usage of the HiFi Tuning fuses, Mitch2. Even though this thread is old, I just saw something on fuses one night about 5 days ago on Stereophile's equipment review page under the powerline section. Michael Fremer tried them and found they definitively improved the sound. I ordered 3 of 'em on the spot (I'm a sucker for cheap improvements) and have them in my Antique Sound Lab Hurricanes. WOW!
I would say the improvement is significant! MUCH less "burr" when violinists dig into the bow, a considerably lower noise floor (and the Hurricanes excelled at that to begin with) and a purity to the sound, which is partly a large reduction in grain (the "scrim" between you and the music) and an improvement in spaces between instruments. Pretty impressive improvement for $38.00. And I bought a "Supreme" model (Mundorf-ish, according to the site, in the parts used, I mean).
I'd NEVER, after this experiment, use stock fuses. EVER.

So Chuck lets buy a new mold..We both know how these speakers work and can work and the resulting playback is in 3D.. Tom

Tim,

Yes, I still have my Star Sound speakers, the Harmonic Precision Caravelles. It's sad that very few people know how good they are.

They say the secret behind them is the molded cabinet. They aren't the first, the seashell B&W Nautilus has one, but they're before the Vivid (the B&W Nautilus designer) and the Hansens.

I've spent an additional $9000.00 upgrading them, those brass stands and having those outboard crossovers made. I haven't personally heard the Magico Mini II speakers, but I've been told that my $14000.00 modified Caravelles sound better then them, and for half the price.

But, the upgrader, formerly of Star Sound, didn't charge hardly anywhere near what he should have because this was a special personal project for him. He says that he won't do another because of the time he actually put into the speakers, and all of the different drivers he bought to try in them.

It's strange that the anti-resonant molded cabinet means so much, because other than Hansen and Vivid, manufactures aren't using them. YG Acoustics is doing something kind of similiar with their cabinets honed from a solid aluminum billet.

I'm saddened and amazed that because they're unknown speakers, that the resale value is so low. I know that I'll never be able to sell mine, but I don't need to.

Two pair have come up on Audiogon lately for $1500.00 and $2100.00. The pair for $1500.00 sold in one day, so someone got a fantastic deal.

The other pair for $2100.00 is still here and are still a steal. They even have the dedicated custom adjustable Sistrum stands that cost $1000.00 on their own.

A lot of people are missing out on one of the best speakers around. Everyone knows how good Star Sound's Audio Points and Sistrum Stands are they sell as soon as they come up. But I don't know if even 20 pairs of the Caravelles were made because of the mold wearing out, so they're not known.

6Moons started that review, but didn't finish it because he told Star Sound that if they didn't have at least five sets ready to sell, he wouldn't finish the review and let his readers down when they couldn't buy them. But the mold was broken and the company's finances didn't allow them to buy another mold and continue with the production.

Sad times in the audio world and the economy in general, but we have our music!

Chuck

Hi Chuck,
I haven't checked in on your system in awhile. I believe I purchased some Starsound Sonoran PC's from you a while ago. Not using them anymore but I see you still have the Starsound speakers. Those crossovers look killer with the Dueland resistors and caps and huge inductors.

Regarding fuses, I still can't believe the difference in this one case from changing a fuse. I wanted to try the Furutech fuses since I use and like their cables and connectors, and because they use copper instead of silver. Unfortunately, I don't think they yet make one in 3AG size that is smaller than 1A and I need 500mA.

Thanks for your comments.
-Tim

Tim,

I'm glad that it worked like that for you.

I think it's interesting that with all of the hundreds and thousands we've spent trying different pieces of equipment, that the relatively small cost of these fuses are nothing in the grand scheme of things.

It's a shame that more don't just try them, because I've also found that they help. BTW, I've been through all of them except the HiFiTuning Silver fuses, and I've found the Furutech fuses to be the most beneficial in my system.

Chuck